Astral Flow

Chapter 43

With a splash Melia and Ryder both landed in the pool of pure mana that awaited them below, the pool though was deeper than one would imagine.

Easily deep enough for the two of them to be submerged in, falling deeper down ever so slowly.

It was a strange feeling, like that of bathing in the waters of creation, yet slightly different... it was just enough that Ryder couldn't put his finger on it.

Yet the warmth that washed over him was relaxing, soothing, it made his mind begin to fade.

[RYDER!]

A burst of black flames snapped Ryder to his senses, causing him to look around, he was still in the liquid and he couldn't hold his breath much longer.

Quickly he looked for Melia, a wave of fear running through him as he saw her writhing in pain, trying to swim but getting nowhere.

[Grab her now! This stuff is toxic to normal people!]

Not wasting another moment he quickly swam over to her, pulling her close and swimming to the surface as quickly as possible.

Upon breaking through he noticed the outside surface was rigid, just like in Omen's False Zone.

Quickly he pulled himself and Melia through with ease, getting her up and out of there before it was too late.

[Quick, drop a few embers on her, let them leech what excess may remain on her.]

"Sorry in advance if this hurts..." Ryder quietly says before placing a few embers on her shoulder, the tiny black sparks already getting to work as Melia looks up at him weakly.

"How..." her voice was weak, hoarse from the pure mana working its way into her lungs.

"Just lucky, you stay there though, now that you're on the surface you'll be fine." Ryder stands up and turns around, spotting the fight they were now in.

Towards the back of the room is Saint Lucent, sitting on a twisted throne made of tree roots.

Her honorable knight, Tavish, standing in front of her, hammer at his side ready for a fight.

Though he has not engaged yet, only watching the two of them.

"You there, Lord marked by the Slumbering Chaos, why have you come?" Tavish's voice was cold, yet curious.

It held an authority to it that shook Ryder to his core.

"I'm here to defeat the other lords and secure a path home! The only way to do that is by reaching the end of the world!" Ryder responds as honestly as he could.

"I see, you dream of saving yourself and those around you, do you not?" Tavish asks, now resting one hand on his hammer. "How can you do that when you do not even know yourself?"

"What-" Ryder freezes, feeling Tavish's words cut deep, deeper than anything he's felt yet.

"You are simply playing pretend, I can see it in your eyes..." Tavish looks back at Lucent. "A true Lord knows what needs to be done in order to better the world around them, they know when to heal and when to strike." with one quick heft he heaves the earth-shattering hammer onto his shoulder and looks back at Ryder. "Show me that you know when it is time to strike someone down."

Before Ryder could respond, Tavish dashes in, swinging hard and connecting with Ryder.

The hammer hit hard, harder than Teach and sent him flying back, Ryder only barely managed to catch himself and not land even harder.